Topic: The era of "performance-driven" has arrived, with major reforms in public fund performance evaluation after three years! Nearly a thousand fund managers face "pay cuts."
Recently, the "Guidelines for Performance Evaluation Management of Fund Management Companies (Draft for Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") has sparked heated discussions in the industry.
The Guidelines stipulate constraints on dividends paid by fund companies to shareholders. It requires fund companies to prudently determine dividend frequency and ratios based on the medium- to long-term performance of fund products and investor returns. For companies with poor fund performance and significant investor losses over the past three years, dividend frequency and ratios should be appropriately reduced.
According to Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co.,Ltd.'s (SPDB) 2024 annual report, SPDB AMC reported revenue of 1.276 billion yuan and a net profit of 253 million yuan. SPDB holds a 51% stake in SPDB AMC and received a dividend of 51 million yuan, indicating a total dividend payout of 100 million yuan by SPDB AMC, with a dividend payout ratio of 39.53%.
Extrapolating this, over the past decade (2015–2024), SPDB AMC's cumulative net profit reached 2.702 billion yuan, with total dividends to shareholders amounting to 882 million yuan. During this period, SPDB received cumulative dividends of 450 million yuan from SPDB AMC.
Similarly, over the past decade, SPDB AMC's foreign shareholder, AXA Investment Managers, received dividends of 344 million yuan.
Established in 2007, SPDB AMC has a registered and paid-in capital of 1.2 billion yuan. AXA Investment Managers holds a 39% stake, implying an investment of at least 468 million yuan since inception.
In comparison, within the public fund industry, Penghua Fund's second-largest shareholder, Eurizon Capital SGR (an Italian asset management company), acquired a 49% stake in 2007 for approximately 550 million euros (about 570 million yuan). Over the past decade (2015–2024), Eurizon Capital received dividends of 1.667 billion yuan from Penghua Fund. This shows that, based solely on dividend data, Eurizon Capital has recouped its investment and earned an additional 1.1 billion yuan in profits.
In contrast, AXA Investment Managers invested 468 million yuan in SPDB AMC and received dividends of 344 million yuan over the past decade, indicating a significantly lower return compared to Eurizon Capital's gains from Penghua Fund.
Performance-wise, Wind data reveals that over the three-year period from 2022 to 2024, among SPDB AMC's 74 fund products (primary codes only), 32 (43%) reported losses, 47 (63%) underperformed their benchmarks, and 17 (22%) lagged benchmarks by over 10%.
From December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2025, among SPDB AMC's 86 products, 15 (17%) incurred losses, 55 (63%) underperformed benchmarks, and 19 (22%) trailed benchmarks by more than 10%.
Market analysts highlight concerns about fund companies' dividend payouts to shareholders: excessive dividend ratios hinder capital accumulation and risk management, weakening innovation, expansion, and risk resilience. Additionally, shareholders may not fulfill their responsibilities as long-term, patient capital. Lastly, high dividend payouts during market downturns or periods of poor investor returns negatively impact investor experience.
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